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Italian-born Giuggioli, 48, says she had an affair with an old friend, Ansa news agency bureau chief Marco Brancaccia, 55, between 2015 and 2016, but alleges that when the affair ended he harassed her with “frightening” messages.

He is now being investigated by police in Rome, the Times of London first reported.

The Firths, who have a house in Umbria, Italy, said in a statement: “A few years ago Colin and Livia privately made the decision to separate. During that time, Livia briefly became involved with former friend Mr. Brancaccia. The Firths have since reunited.

Subsequently, Mr. Brancaccia carried out a frightening campaign of harassment over several months, much of which is documented. For obvious reasons, the Firths have never had any desire to make this matter public,” adding that the story came from a “leaked court document.”

According to Spanish newspaper El País, citing Italian court documents, Brancaccia allegedly sent naked photos of Giuggioli to Firth and allegedly told her, “If you end our relationship I will ruin your life,” which left her “living in terror.”

Brancaccia has strongly denied the claims, saying of Livia: “We were romantically involved, she wanted to leave Colin for me . . . My ‘stalking’ consisted of two messages via WhatsApp after she ended our relationship in June 2016, and an e-mail. I wrote an e-mail to Colin about my relationship with Livia, which I now regret sending, and she filed a complaint against me for stalking out of fear that I could go public with what she had revealed to me about her marriage.” He further claims, “In a year she sent me hundreds of messages of love, photos and videos, even a diary.”

Brancaccia’s lawyers also said he’s “filed a legal complaint to protect his good name . . . and to be able to supply his version of the truth.”